The invention relates to a conveyor apparatus having pivotable load-bearing elements which can travel along an endless track and can be unloaded at an unloading station, the apparatus having two switching elements which are disposed at the unloading station and can be switched individually between an inactive and an active state. The invention further relates to a use of this apparatus.
A conveyor apparatus of this type is disclosed in European Patent Application No. EP 0 540 464 A2 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,767, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The load-bearing elements are wagons or carts which each have two trays that are disposed one behind the other and can be tipped, together or individually, at an unloading station. A package is loaded onto one of the wagons at a loading station. Depending on the size of the package, it is loaded onto both, or only one of the trays of the wagon. Two switching elements for tipping the trays are disposed at the unloading station, one behind the other in the direction of travel. The switching elements can be pivoted between an active and an inactive position by means of a pneumatic cylinder. The two switching elements are equally spaced from one another.
During unloading, piece goods are typically deposited onto a further conveyor apparatus, for example an accumulation belt, laterally with an arc-shaped path. The path of the piece goods during the unloading process is particularly a function of the weight of the piece goods, which can vary considerably in postal parcels or consumer products, for example. The arc-shaped paths of the piece goods can thus vary greatly during unloading. As a consequence, an accumulator belt to be loaded, for example, must have a comparatively wide design, so that, for example, even very light piece goods that are deposited with a comparatively wide arc are deposited onto the accumulator belt.